Childhood Sexual Abuse, Dissociation, and Adult Self-Destructive Behavior

175 female college students reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA)& 266 not reporting a history of childhood sexual abuse were compared on indices of 6 self-destructive behaviours, including drug use, alcohol abuse, binge eating, self-mutilation, risky sex, & suicidality. The samples were also compared on 2 measures of dissociation. The CSA group had significantly higher mean scores on all the indices of self-destructive behaviour except self-mutilation, & higher mean scores on both measures of dissociation. (33 refs)